Chapter 8: CHAPTER 7

The kids walked in separate groups, each in their respective faction. They had reached the point where that smartass guy's body had exploded. They had hurried past that place, which had mysteriously become clean. It had probably been cleaned by the same robots that brought their food, but no one thought of that.

There was a heavy mood hanging over the group, some had tried to dispel it through conversation, but had failed miserably. The question, 'Will I make it back?', was practically hanging like a bubble over their heads.

George himself was deep in thought. He was wishing he had never come to the academy.

'I wish I was back home with Mom and Dad. I wish I was still at my old school, with my friends. Why did I have to come here?'

Now, someone listening to his inner thoughts might be wondering how he had forgotten the reason he was in his current situation. After all, that reason was his fact, his parents! The answer to their wonderings, would actually be a what's called a 'coping mechanism'.

That's right! George mind had blocked the memory of the video in order for him to function. He had been in such a broken state that he would probably have killed himself if he was to remember. Which child would be able think about their parents abandoning them without wanting to forget?

So what George did was to make himself 'forget'. What he did naturally, would not make him forget forever. It would come to light eventually. Maybe it would be soon.

When they reached a crossroads, Warden's voice came on again.

"Keep going straight."

They proceeded as directed. Although they were curious about what lied in the other directions, after what had happened to that one guy, none of them dared to step out of line. Well, all of them except for one. Alex Shampa, the one known for being arrogant, lashed out at someone who bumped into him and punched him.

"What do you think you're doing, Subject Alex?"

Warden's voice rang out after the person who was hit fell the ground.

"It seems you're very energetic. Don't worry, I'll make sure to give you the most exhausting 'test', to make sure you sleep well tonight."

Alex's face turned pale, and laughter rang out from Josephine's group.

They reached a room where there were many capsules that were human sized lined up against the walls.

"Welcome to the first test, children! For this one, you'll be undergoing a rather harsh method to awaken Hani that one of our professors devised."

"Hani?", George asked Alistair.                   

"The source of power for every Ranked", Alistair replied.

Warden was still speaking about the test.

"Naturally, there are many other, more gentle ways to awaken Hani. But the purpose of this facility is to conduct research, so you will be exposed to untested, unverified theories put into practice. If you make it through, you may have the qualifications to become a Ranked."

Every child's face went pale at her words.

"Well then, let's get started."

"Everyone, when you hear your name and number, go to the capsule with the corresponding number. It has clearly been indicated."

"Amanda Fiand, number 45."

A girl stepped out. She was very pretty, but that wasn't her defining feature. No, it was her ears that were long and pointed that made her so unique.

"Oh my, we have a half-elf in our midst. How surprising."

Although it was impossible for the Warden to not have known, the students had actually not noticed her presence, even Alistair.

'Was she always here?', George thought to himself.

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One by one, fifty-nine names were called out. George had been number 44. He was by the capsule next to the half-elf. He turned to look at her. She was indeed quite pretty, she had white hair that fell to the middle of her back.

'She is very pretty. How did I not notice her?'

Warden started to explain about the test, or rather should it be called an experiment? Either way, it seemed wouldn't be quite easy.

"When you enter the capsule, face the opening of it. An oxygen mask will come out from the top of the capsule. Put it on, and that's it for your part. We'll handle the rest. The professor who came up with the idea is also watching, so please try to do your best."

George entered the capsule and turned around. The capsule closed. As Warden said, a mask fell out of the top of the capsule. He brought it to his face and tried to put it on. He couldn't seem to figure it out. That was when the mask flew towards his face and attached itself.

The same had happened to the others.

Warden gave a cackle.

"Did I forget to say that you don't have to actually put it on? My bad."

A gas started to flow from the mask into George's body. He took deep breaths, trying to psyche himself up. That was when he realized he was losing control of his body.

A suspicious fluid started filling the capsule. George started panicking, but he had already lost control of his body. He could do nothing but watch.

"As this test will be very painful, we can't have you thrashing around. It might alter the results. We're very careful when it comes to precision. Just relax, don't try to struggle."

Warden gave a short laugh.

"Well, you couldn't even if you wanted to, but that defeats the point. I've always wanted say that. Did it sound cool?"

"Let's begin. Good luck, and don't die. It would make me very sad if even one of you were to croak."

At this point, the fluid had completely filled the capsule. Syringes came out of each side of the capsule and injected things into his body.

At first, George couldn't feel anything, but little by little, he felt a pricking sensation all over his body. It started out like a tickle, but gradually began to increase in intensity until it felt like needles where stabbing every nerve in his body.

George wanted to scream, but couldn't. He wanted to move, at least a little, to distract himself from the agony.

He felt like his mind was going to crack.

'Why am I going through this? What did I do to anyone? Who did this?'

All of a sudden, the image of the video flashed in his mind.

'That's right. How could I forget? It's because of them. Why? Why? WHY?'

Because of the pain, George had snapped out of his earlier delusions. All his pain from the betrayal of his parents and the mind-breaking pain of the test had been focused onto one target, the source of his current situation, his mother and father.

This focus gave him an escape from reality for long enough for the test to be over. The capsule opened and everyone fell to the ground. After a few minutes, when the paralyzing effect had faded, they all got up. Actually, everyone save for five unlucky souls.

Everyone turned towards the five people who hadn't got up.

"It seems some people's vital signs are gone. That's too bad. I wanted us to have so much more fun together."

"Rejoice, you made it past the first test. There will be a test every two weeks. Take this week to recover. Next week, we start teaching you the basics of Hani and the history of the world."

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